ማይ
may
The Tigrinya word for water is ማይ (may).
ማይ is the standard noun used to refer to the inorganic compound H₂O.
Meaning: inorganic compound H₂O (noun)
How do you pronounce it?
may
Did you know?
- The Tigrinya word ማይ is a direct descendant of the Proto-Semitic root *māy-, making it a linguistic sibling to the word for 'water' in ancient languages from thousands of years ago.
- In Ethiopian and Eritrean coffee ceremonies, water is boiled in a traditional clay pot called a ጀበና (jebena) which is essential for the ritual.
- Because Tigrinya is an abugida script, the word ማይ is written with a single character for the consonant-vowel combination ማ and a separate character for the glide ይ.
Example sentences for Tigrinya are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Samuel and Mehar are sitting at a table together.
- ሳሚኤል Samuelመዓር፡ ማይ ትደሊዶ?Mehar, may tidelido?Mehar, do you want some water?
- መዓር Me'arእወ፡ በጃኻ ሃበኒ።Ewe, bejakha habeni.Yes, please give me some.
- ሳሚኤል Samuelእነሆ ማይ።Ineho may.Here is the water.
- መዓር Me'arየቐንየለይ ሳሚኤል።Yeqenyely Samuel.Thank you, Samuel.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “water” translations and entries ማይ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ማይ, CC BY-SA 4.0.
